48 



INSTITXTTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 1 2 



high and 21/2 inches in diameter, supplied with 

 kerosene, a metal cap, and a wick.'^" An occa- 

 sional villager or farmer owns a flashlight. 



The two houses in the village that are supplied 

 with electricity receive it from a small generator 

 on the fazenda that lies at the edge of the village. 

 Along a rock and cement channel about 16 inches 

 wide and 20 inches deep, water flows from a nearby 

 stream into a metal tube about 12 inches in diam- 

 eter through which it drops several feet to turn a 

 small turbine located inside a building, which 

 then turns a small dynamo about 12 feet away. 

 Light is supplied to fazenda buildings and the 

 nearby village church, as well as the two houses. 



On some farms, the limited amount of heat given 

 out by the poid is occasionally supplemented, on the 

 colder evenings and nights, by a fire placed on the 

 earthen floor. If the night is quite chilly, someone 

 may replenish it periodically during the night. 

 One village family has an alcohol stove on which 

 to make cafe without having to build a fire in the 

 poid. Candles are commonly used in the family 

 oratorios., although sometimes a teacup, or small 

 glass, is provided with oil and a wick to use for 

 this purpose. 



DRESS 



Men commonly wear light cotton shirts"^ and 

 cotton trousers. Except on the colder days or 

 upon special occasions, coats are seldom used. An 

 occasional man owns a woolen cape which he wears 

 on rainy days, draped over the shoulders and fas- 

 tened about the neck. A leather belt, shoes, and 

 a battered felt hat, all of which are factory-made, 

 usually complete the clothing worn by the men. 

 Neckties are rarely used. They are sometimes 

 worn on Sundays and at religious or secular festi- 

 vals and dances. At one of the latter, however, 

 only 6 men among the approximately 50 present 

 had on neckties. A few men in the village always 

 wear ties on social occasions, as also does the 

 administrator of the fazenda that lies at the edge 

 of the village. The jwiz de paz^^'^ a fai'mer, wears 

 a necktie when officiating at weddings. A villager 



""The gasoline pressure lantern employed by researchers 

 working on this study was so admired that shortly after field 

 work began, similar lanterns were purchased by two of the local 

 storekeepers, the owner of the principal hotrquitn, the baker and 

 a farmer. 



•" A young man recently was observed to be using a cotton 

 undershirt in place of a shirt, an innovation in the community. 



"^ See Division of Labor, p. 60. 



has three ties which he rarely uses and which he 

 says are 17 years old. 



Women usually wear light cotton print dresses. 

 Especially on the fai'ms but also in the village, 

 these are often patched and sometimes ragged. 

 Aprons are occasionally used. Hats are seldom 

 worn, except when in the field, on which occasions 

 an old straw hat may be used. On colder days, 

 and when going to a nearby town, a cotton ker- 

 chief may be tied over the head. A faded umbrella 

 occasionally is used when walking in the hot sun. 

 Many women have at least a cheap coat to wear 

 to Mass on the colder days. In the house, when 

 it is cold, a cotton blanket may be worn wrapped 

 about the head and shoulders of the mother and, 

 perhaps, of the baby in her arms. 



Men rarely go barefoot, a practice which is 

 rather common among the women, both on the 

 farms and in the village. The shoes worn by the 

 men are occasionallj' of ankle length but are more 

 commonly either oxfords or alpargafa.s, low shoes 

 with rope soles and canvas tops. High leather 

 boots or puttees commonly are worn as a protec- 

 tion against snakes while on imcleared land. 

 Quite often, the women use slippers with toes of 

 leather or of cloth, some of which have no backs. 

 Neither men nor women wear stockings or socks, 

 except on special occasions, such as Sundays or 

 days of fesfa, when cotton or lisle may be worn, 

 especially by the young men and women. A small 

 girl occasionally uses ankle-length socks and a 

 small boy the three-quarter length stockings com- 

 mon to the boys' dress in the cities. 



Village men usually wear shorts but no under- 

 shirts. An occasional villager, however, and most 

 farmers use cerow^ois, or long, white, cotton draw- 

 ers. The undergarments of the women usually 

 are limited to light cotton slips and, less com- 

 monly, panties. Girdles are never worn. Only 

 occasionally are handkerchiefs carried. 



The clothing worn by the older childi-en is sim- 

 ilar to that of the pai-ents. A boy usually wears 

 a light cotton shirt and pants and a girl a light 

 cotton dress and undergarment. When quite 

 small, or up until around 11/2 to 2 years of age, a 

 boy commonly wears at home only a lightweight 

 shirt that reaches to the waist and a girl a similar 

 garment, or a somewhat longer dress. An occa- 

 sional child of this age, when at home, goes with- 

 out clothing of any kind (pi. 5, d) . Both boys and 



